What Is Organic Rice? A Detailed Guide to Organic Rice Cultivation and Fertilization Techniques

Rice produced from varieties recommended by the agricultural improvement station, grown without the use of chemical fertilizers, chemically synthesized pesticides, herbicides, growth regulators, and the like during the cultivation process, is called organic rice. So how exactly do you grow it? If you want to eat truly organic rice, growing it yourself is best. So let's take a look together at how to grow it.

In response to the impact brought by the opening of rice imports after the government joined the WTO, and in order to protect our ecological environment, the government implemented organic rice cultivation, actively promoting organic rice cultivation since the 84th year of the Republic of China. This station began experimental research on organic rice cultivation methods in the second crop of the 84th year; in the first crop of the 85th year, trial cultivation was carried out in townships including Xiluo, Citong, Huwei and Puzi, with an area of about 7 hectares; in the second crop of the 85th year, trial cultivation was added in townships including Taibao, Minxiong and Liuying, with a total area of about 12 hectares; starting from the first crop of the 86th year, organic rice production and marketing groups were established in Xiluo, Litong, Huwei, Puzi and Taibao; in the first crop of the 87th year, the total area was 63.94 hectares.

  The fertilizer materials used in organic rice cultivation can include any agricultural and livestock waste that has been fully fermented. The organic fertilizer materials used by each group within the station's jurisdiction vary. The purpose of this experiment was to compare the effects of four organic materials - soybean meal, rapeseed meal, chicken manure compost and rice bran compost - on the yield, quality and taste of organic rice, and to compare their economic benefits, so as to provide a reference for fellow farmers. In addition, in order to investigate the effects of continuous application of the above four organic materials on soil pH, organic matter and available potassium content, as well as concerns about heavy metal contamination, soil samples were taken from each treatment plot after each crop harvest for analysis.

 Organic matter used and its application rate

1.

Soybean powder: basal fertilizer soybean powder 2,000 kg/ha, topdressing soybean powder 660 kg/ha.

2.

Rapeseed meal: basal fertilizer rapeseed meal 2,400 kg/ha, topdressing rapeseed meal 800 kg/ha.

3.

Chicken manure compost: basal fertilizer chicken manure compost 12,000 kg/ha, topdressing rapeseed meal 800 kg/ha.

4.

Rice bran compost: basal fertilizer rice bran compost 12,000 kg/ha, topdressing rapeseed meal 800 kg/ha. The above treatments, converted to nitrogen fertilizer application, amount to 160 kg per hectare, of which 120 kg is basal fertilizer and 40 kg is topdressing.

During the rice growing period, no chemical fertilizers or pesticides are used at all. For pest and disease control, Bacillus thuringiensis, Bacillus subtilis, tobacco sand and the like are used to replace traditional pesticides; rice husk mulching (10,000 kg per hectare), flooding treatment and manual weeding are used to suppress the occurrence of weeds. The agronomic traits of the rice in each treatment plot, such as plant height, number of panicles and yield per hectare, as well as brown rice quality, white rice quality and eating quality, were investigated and soil analysis was carried out.

 Effects of different organic materials on yield

  For second crop yields, in the 87th year the rapeseed meal plot was the highest and the rice bran compost plot the lowest; in the 88th year the soybean meal plot was the highest and the rapeseed meal plot the lowest; in the 89th year the soybean meal plot was the highest and the rice bran compost plot the lowest. However, none reached a significant difference level in any year; the three-year average was highest in the soybean meal plot and lowest in the chicken manure compost plot. For first crop yields, in the 88th year the rapeseed meal plot was the highest and the rice bran compost plot the lowest; in the 89th year the chicken manure compost plot was the highest and the rice bran compost plot the lowest. But none reached a significant difference level in any year either; the two-year average was highest in the chicken manure compost plot and lowest in the rice bran compost plot.

From the results it can be seen that when different organic fertilizer materials were used to cultivate rice at the same nitrogen fertilizer application rate (160 kg per hectare), except that the first crop yield of the rice bran compost plot was lower than the others and reached a significant level, the per-hectare yields of all treatments in the other crops did not reach a significant difference level. And for other agronomic traits, there were also no significant differences among the treatments (Table 2).

 Effects of different organic materials on rice quality

        Rice quality includes test weight, head rice rate and damaged grain rate. The test weight of brown rice obtained by applying the four organic materials was above 780 g/L in both crop seasons, and in the second crop it was as high as 796 g/L. The head rice rate all reached above 65%, the standard for second-grade rice, and in the first crop it was as high as 79.7%. The damaged grain rate was relatively higher in the second crop, above 20% in all four treatments, possibly because of typhoon damage in the 88th and 89th years. It was relatively lower in the first crop, with the rice bran compost plot the lowest at only 9.8%. Dead grains were also higher in the second crop, while immature grains were higher in the first crop. White rice quality was tested by the Taichung District Agricultural Improvement Station. The brown rice percentage was above 80% in all four treatments in both crop seasons; the white rice percentage was above 73% in the second crop and above 71% in the first crop; the head rice percentage was above 67% in both crop seasons. There were no significant differences among the four treatments. There were no significant differences in grain appearance. For grain appearance transparency, the soybean meal treatment plot in the second crop and the chicken manure compost plot in the first crop were 3.3, while the rest were 3; white core was 1 in the second crop and below 1.6 in the first crop; white back was 0 in the second crop. Amylose content was 19.1 ~ 19.6 (%) in the second crop and 17.3 ~ 17.7 (%) in the first crop. Crude protein content was 7.2 ~ 7.6 (%) in the second crop and 5.5 ~ 5.7 (%) in the first crop; gel consistency in the second crop was 76.0 ~ 78.9 mm. These rice quality characteristics differed little among different treatments within the same crop season, but differed more between different crop seasons.

 Effects of different organic materials on eating quality

 The white rice obtained from cultivation with the four organic materials in each crop season was cooked according to the guidelines for sensory evaluation of cooked rice taste, with the rice treated with rice bran compost as the control. In the tasting, a positive score was given if the overall evaluation was better than the control, and a negative score if worse. According to the tasting results, the rapeseed meal plot and the soybean meal plot were considered better.

 Soil reaction after cultivation with different organic materials

  From the soil analysis results obtained after cultivation in each crop season, it can be seen that the soil after organic cultivation was neutral, and the organic matter content was at a medium level or above. Looking at the heavy metal content in the soil after five consecutive crop seasons of organic cultivation, zinc, copper and nickel were at low levels, and chromium, cadmium and lead were at medium levels, with no contamination.

 Price of organic fertilizer per hectare for each treatment

  The chicken manure compost treatment plot was the highest at 58,560 yuan, followed by the rice bran compost plot at 52,560 yuan, the soybean meal plot at 19,995 yuan, and the rapeseed meal plot at 18,240 yuan was the cheapest.

 Regarding the approximate price of organic fertilizer per hectare for each treatment, the chicken manure compost treatment plot was the highest at 58,560 yuan, followed by the rice bran compost plot at 52,560 yuan, the soybean meal plot at 19,995 yuan, and the rapeseed meal plot at 18,240 yuan was the cheapest. As for the white rice taste from applying each kind of organic fertilizer in each year, according to the tasting results, the soybean meal plot and the rapeseed meal plot were considered better. Considering the performance in yield, rice quality and eating taste as well as the price of materials, rapeseed meal and soybean meal are the better fertilizer materials for organic rice cultivation in this area.

        From the experimental results it can be seen that, for the three-year average of second crop paddy yield per hectare, the soybean meal plot was the highest at 4157.9 kg, followed by the rapeseed meal plot at 4,109.9 kg, and the chicken manure compost plot the lowest at 3,994.9 kg; for the two-year average of first crop yield, the chicken manure compost plot was the highest at 6,309.6 kg, followed by the rapeseed meal plot at 6,306.2 kg, and the rice bran compost plot the lowest at 5,866.8 kg. Except that the first crop yield of the rice bran compost plot was lower than the other plots and reached a significant level, the per-hectare yields among treatments in the other crop seasons did not reach a significant difference level.